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Possible Green Light for Antidepressants During Pregnancy

by Carolyn Buchanan on January 03, 2013

Carolyn Buchanan

About the Author

B.C. (before children), Carolyn was trained as a journalist — a generalist journalist. Now as a parent, she experiences news differently. What was once an item of passing interest, i.e. "Toy Train Runs on Lead Paint" or "Midnight Release Planned for Latest Power Rangers Movie" now consumes her life. Still she trains her eye to find the family relevance in everything new, and that's what she endeavors to share with you here. As a parent, and a writer for What to Expect, she will be your family-news filter (with a personal twist).

About the Blog

WhatToExpect.com supports Word of Mom as a place to share stories and highlight the many perspectives and experiences of pregnancy and parenting. However, the opinions expressed in this section are those of individual writers and do not reflect the views of Heidi Murkoff of the What to Expect brand.

Euphoria is not everyone's natural state during pregnancy. And certainly, women who've had struggles with depression — and experienced success using antidepressants — prior to becoming pregnant want to know that the option is open to them during pregnancy. A major new study published by the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) gives the yellow light (proceed with caution) to those who seek to continue the use of drugs known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs (including Lexapro, Zoloft, Prozac, Celexa) throughout their pregnancies.

Researchers studied pregnancy outcomes of over 1.6 million Northern European women. On the plus side, they concluded: "Among women with singleton births in Nordic countries, no significant association was found between use of SSRIs during pregnancy and risk of stillbirth, neonatal mortality, or postneonatal mortality." In other words, taking antidepressants during pregnancy does not jeopardize the baby's survival.

The cautionary part is this: "However, decisions about use of SSRIs during pregnancy must take into account other perinatal outcomes and the risks associated with maternal mental illness." It leaves room for concern regarding the risks of taking any prescription medications during pregnancy; some studies have shown low risks of lung or heart defects in this particular class of antidepressants.

But untreated depression during pregnancy can lead to preterm labor, premature birth, and adjustment problems postpartum. Dr. Rebecca Starck, chair of regional obstetrics and gynecology at the Cleveland Clinic, told CBS News.com that Doctors may see if there is an opportunity to put a pregnant woman who needs antidepressants on a lower dose of the drug. "Having said that, we don't want to undertreat and put them at risk. We don't know for certain," all the risks from taking antidepressants during pregnancy, Starck said, "But we also have to balance that with mom's well-being."

Would you — or did you consider taking antidepressants during pregnancy? Why? Why not?